JOEL KIM BOOSTER

“Fire Island”

”I’m very lucky that I had the ability to sort of see it fully realized myself,” Booster says of his first film “Fire Island,” in which he also stars.

“There’s an immense amount of pressure as a creator from a couple of marginalized communities creating a story about being a marginalized community within a marginalized community,” he says, referring to LGBTQIA+ and Asian American people. “I knew that it was going to either be completely ignored or dismissed, or it would find its audience and really hit with them. And I think that a little bit of both has happened.”

The Hulu rom-com received widespread critical and social media praise for its representation and fresh take on the genre. A standout moment is a rousing game of charades, with characters acting out “My Cousin Vinny” dialogue. “It was one of my favorite things to write, and it’s one of my favorite things to shoot and to continually watch, so I’m so proud of that moment in the movie.”

As for what’s next, Booster, a self-described “nerd” who owns more than 1,000 comic books says, “I’m really excited to do something possibly really different from ‘Fire Island.’ I’m really interested in playing with the genre moving forward. The next rom-com that I do I would love to be set in the midst of the biblical apocalypse or something like that. I’m really fascinated and interested in creating these slices of life, domestic stories set against a backdrop that is really heightened and fantastical.”

Reps: Agent: WME; Management: Omnipop Talent Group; Legal: Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson Mcginnis Ryan Influences: Issa Rae, Phoebe Waller-bridge, Michaela Coel — Alexa Harrison